Peritoneal Mesothelioma Cancer - Peritoneal Mesothelioma Survival Rate, Treatment

Peritoneal Mesothelioma Survival Rate

Peritoneal Mesothelioma Cancer - Peritoneal Mesothelioma Survival Rate, Treatment​

Peritoneal mesothelioma cancer is one of the four main types of malignant mesothelioma. The name stems from the area where the cancer develops, along the peritoneum also known as the lining of the abdomen. Roughly 250 to 500 new cases of peritoneal mesothelioma are diagnosed in the U.S. each year, making it the second most general mesothelioma type.

All mesotheliomas including peritoneal, stem from complete exposure to asbestos, usually at work. People diagnosed with the disease often can pinpoint a time in their lives when they were around asbestos dust, fibers or products for a continued period. This exposure leads to ingestion or inhalation of microscopic asbestos particles, which can produce cancerous cells and then tumors.

The peritoneum is a protective membrane that surrounds the abdomen, or belly. It has two layers, and mesothelioma can expand on both. The parietal layer covers the abdominal cavity, while the intuitive layer surrounds the stomach, liver and other organs of the abdomen. Together, the layers support the abdominal cavity as a whole and the organs within it.

What Causes Peritoneal Mesothelioma?

Although no definitive answer is available, cancer experts most generally associate the cause of peritoneal mesothelioma with the following theories:

Peritoneal Mesothelioma Symptoms

Early symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma can comprise abdominal pain or swelling, and diarrhea or constipation. Unfortunately, some patients don't experience any symptoms until tumors have spread. This scenario makes treating the disease hard and surviving it still harder.

You may not experience cancer symptoms for 20 to 50 years after your first exposure to asbestos. Once asbestos fibers reach the peritoneum and irritate the cells, the peritoneal lining starts to thicken. As the cancer develops, the buildup of excess fluid in the abdomen, known as ascites, may occur next. Over time, tumors form and place pressure on the organs.

Because this cancer is so rare, doctors who lack experience with the disease often misdiagnose mesothelioma patients with more ordinary illnesses who have similar symptoms a serious mistake that delays suitable treatment. Peritoneal mesothelioma symptoms like abdominal swelling, weight loss and hernia also arise in other abdominal cancers and many less serious conditions, increasing the probability of a misdiagnosis.

Mesothelioma Survival Rates

About 40 percent of patients with mesothelioma survive the first year after diagnosis. That survival rate depends on many factors, including age, cancer stage, cancer type, race and gender. Long-term survivors attribute their success to treatment from a mesothelioma specialist, option medicine and nutritional changes.

How is survival rate measured?

Researchers describe the mesothelioma survival rate in several ways. They usually talk about it in terms of one-year survival, the percentage of people who survive for a year after diagnosis. Through their studies, they also look at longer survival times, including the number of people who live two years, three years and five years.

Peritoneal Mesothelioma Treatment

The option of treatment for peritoneal mesothelioma depends on a number of factors. These include

The stage of your cancer

Any other medical conditions you may have

Your general fitness

Some people with localised abdominal mesothelioma can have surgery to try to remove the entire tumour from the abdominal cavity.

If you have advanced mesothelioma, you may have surgery to take away as much of the tumour as possible. This type of surgery is called debulking. You may have chemotherapy on its own for superior abdominal mesothelioma. Or you may have it before or after surgery.

Unfortunately, cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy do not always work well for mesothelioma. Doctors and researchers are working to improve mesothelioma treatment all the time. You may be offered treatment as part of a clinical trial. The results of the trials will be used to improve treatment in the future. We have information about taking part in clinical trials.

Surgery

Surgery is not often possible for peritoneal mesothelioma as you need to be very fit for this type of major operation. If surgery is likely, the operation is called a peritonectomy. This means removing the part of the peritoneum (the lining of the abdomen) in which the mesothelioma is rising. This aims to reduce symptoms.

Chemotherapy

Some people with peritoneal mesothelioma may have chemotherapy (anti cancer drugs) injected into a vein. Depending on the type of chemotherapy drugs used, this treatment can be given weekly or every two to three weeks. Usually the treatment is given as an outpatient. It aims to shrink the mesothelioma and keep it under control for as long as possible. But chemotherapy given like this does not work very well for a lot of people with mesothelioma. Research is continuing to try to find better ways of using chemotherapy.

Supportive care (palliative care)

Unfortunately peritoneal mesothelioma is frequently diagnosed when it is quite advanced. Some people may be too ill to cope with intensive chemotherapy. But you can still have treatment to try to relieve symptoms such as pain, weight loss and fluid in the abdomen.